title: Use of antimicrobials in companion animal practice: a retrospective study in a veterinary teaching hospital in Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the use of antimicrobials in a veterinary teaching hospital for companion animals in Italy, with particular regard to the agreement with recommendations of prudent use
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted with a retrospective, cross-sectional design. The population under investigation included 18,905 cats and dogs that were referred to the hospital between 2000 and 2007. Two different samples of the clinical paper forms were randomly selected to estimate the prevalence of animals receiving an antimicrobial prescription and to describe the pattern of antimicrobials used in relation to the condition being treated. The proportion of antimicrobials prescribed accomplishing recommendations of prudent use was also estimated, as well as the level of agreement with specific, diagnosis-based guidelines for antimicrobial use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Broad-spectrum antimicrobials, including penicillins with β-lactamase inhibitors, first-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones, were the most frequently prescribed compounds. Antimicrobials prescribed with the support of microbiological analyses and susceptibility testing were less than 5%. Among the recommendation of prudent use, the availability of information from laboratory testing had the poorest degree of agreement, while the other evaluated items were accomplished in most of the cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results highlight the need to improve the procedures of antimicrobial prescription in the study setting. This can be achieved by supporting the guidance for antimicrobial use at the local level, with the adoption of specific guidelines, and at the national level with a further implementation of the policies of prudent prescriptions.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica Veterinaria e Sicurezza Alimentare, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. martina.escher@gmail.com
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Escher
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vanni
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Intorre
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caprioli
authors.forename: Rosalba
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tognetti
authors.forename: Gaia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scavia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002415:Cats; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004285:Dogs; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D007558:Italy; D057805:Pets; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents